Legendary basketball player, Shaquille O’Neal is listed as a defendant in the class action lawsuit against celebrities who endorsed and promoted FTX, a digital currency exchange. Despite their best efforts, the lawyers representing the investors have yet to serve O’Neal. As a result, the lawyers filed a motion with the presiding judge that sought the permission to serve him using his Twitter and Instagram direct messages. To-date, all the other defendants namely; Tom Brady, Larry David, Gisele Bundchen, Stephen Curry and Kevin O’Leary, have been served.

Edwin Garrison, a retail investor, is the one who initially filed the lawsuit against the celebrities when FTX’s crypto exchange collapsed. According to Garrison, the celebrities did not properly disclose the compensation they received for endorsing and promoting the platform. The lawyers representing him stated that they have attempted personal service on O’Neal at his Texas and Georgia residences on more than twelve occasions and have also contacted him through his attorneys’ emails in addition to the social media messages.

Unfortunately, all of these efforts have failed and the judge presiding over the case rejected the motion to serve O’Neal via his social media direct messages. Emphasizing the complexity of the situation, the judge warned that he will not tolerate any violations or arguments that lack validity going forward. The lawyers have been given until April 17, which is an extension from last December, to serve O’Neal or else the lawsuit proceedings may proceed without his inclusion.

Nevertheless, there are examples from the US Northern District of California and the Three Arrows Capital bankruptcy that set legal precedents for serving defendants through online means. In October 2020, the US Northern District of California ruled that the CFTC could serve a decentralized autonomous organization using its online help chat box. Moreover, the subpoenas issued to Su Zhu and Kyle Davies, following the bankruptcy of Three Arrows Capital, were served via email and Twitter due to their unknown whereabouts.



Other News from Today